Final report

Overview

Project summary

Goals:

Findings:

Data Overview

Twitter data

Table of data

Here is a sample of the type of twitter information we obtained.

created_at	tweet_id	full_text	user_id	user_location	geo_type	geo_coordinates	language	retweet_count	favorite_count	lat	lon
Fri Nov 06 18:46:27 +0000 2015	6.627026e+17	A fab Friday looking up the coast toward Isla Vista / UCSB…happy weekend folks! @ Mesa, Santa… https://t.co/DzlPdRsuAf	2.731793e+08	Santa Barbara, California	Point	c(34.40225341, -119.72285054)	en	0	0	34.40225	-119.7229
Sat Apr 18 09:07:06 +0000 2015	5.893545e+17	fact: im doing better than my ex’s 😂	4.220883e+08	in my bag	Point	c(34.41380322, -119.86048449)	en	1	1	34.41380	-119.8605
Fri Sep 22 18:58:59 +0000 2017	9.113038e+17	Wow, trying to smize is harder than you think 👀 @ Santa Barbara, California https://t.co/bOB8TNkMqH	4.160392e+08	Somewhere having a breakdown	Point	c(34.4258, -119.714)	en	0	0	34.42580	-119.7140
Mon Jan 19 22:00:51 +0000 2015	5.572967e+17	@cwhittemore14 I’m very upset with you right meow	9.188847e+07	Isla Vista, CA	Point	c(34.40982446, -119.70187669)	en	0	0	34.40982	-119.7019
Sun Jul 21 02:49:57 +0000 2019	1.152773e+18	Houdini WINE!!! Yes .. it was so good 🥂 @ Santa Barbara, California https://t.co/daRvPVOA9F	1.111038e+18	Montecito, CA	Point	c(34.4258, -119.714)	en	0	0	34.42580	-119.7140
Fri Jul 29 15:50:36 +0000 2016	7.590535e+17	My father, brother, sister and stepmom, met Stella for the 1st time yesterday!!! In this… https://t.co/ixRqaf4NTB	1.759006e+07	Universal	Point	c(34.41833477, -119.69748266)	en	0	0	34.41833	-119.6975
Fri Dec 09 02:51:18 +0000 2016	8.070550e+17	#tbt I started to love this song 31 years ago! @ Deckers Brands https://t.co/r5xCf2Bvmp	2.930586e+07	Santa Barbara, CA	Point	c(34.42981625, -119.86086009)	en	0	1	34.42982	-119.8609
Sat Mar 21 18:11:28 +0000 2015	5.793446e+17	Fuck this	3.301617e+08	ucsb	Point	c(34.42936315, -119.86941985)	en	0	0	34.42936	-119.8694
Fri Feb 24 14:43:34 +0000 2017	8.351381e+17	current weather in Santa Barbara: clear sky, 40°F 52% humidity, wind 16mph, pressure 1020mb	1.203326e+08	Santa Barbara, CA	Point	c(34.42, -119.7)	en	0	0	34.42000	-119.7000
Fri Jun 16 19:40:24 +0000 2017	8.758002e+17	The Gopher us ready for the festival to start! #liveoakartwalk #liveoakfest #liveoak2017 @ Live… https://t.co/sPJKprqFs3	2.358549e+08	NA	Point	c(34.55768651, -119.88426093)	en	0	0	34.55769	-119.8843

Caveats

Required crimson hexagon access

Maps

Interactive with cluster markers

As you zoom in on the map, clusters will disaggregate. You can click on blue points to see the tweet.

Tweet density

This is log-transformed. There is a single coordinate that has over 11,000 tweets reported across all years. It is near De La Vina between Islay and Valerio. There is nothing remarkable about this site so I assume it is the default coordinate when people tag “Santa Barbara” generally. The coordinate is 34.4258, -119.714.

Identifying tourists and locals

If the user has self-identified their location as somewhere in the Santa Barbara area, they are designated a local. This includes Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, Gaviota and UCSB. For the remainder, we use the number of times they have tweeted from Santa Barbara within a year to designate user type. If someone has tweeted across more than 2 months in the same year from Santa Barbara, they are identified as a local. This is consistent with how Eric Fischer determined tourists in his work. This is not fool-proof and there are instances were people visit and tweet from Santa Barbara more than two months a year, especially if they are visiting family or live within a couple hours driving distance.

There are 26408 tweets from tourists and 56468 tweets from locals.

The following map shows tweet log density by locals (top - blue) and tourists (bottom - red).

Identifying nature-based tweets

Applying dictionary

The dictionary is “nature-based” and is a list of words I put together. I had a hard time finding an ontology or lexicon that would fit this project. These are definitely skewed more towards nature and recreation rather than words like “home” or “connection”.

##  [1] "hike"        "trail"       "hiking"      "camping"     "tent"       
##  [6] "climb"       "summit"      "fishing"     "sail"        "sailing"    
## [11] "boat"        "boating"     "ship"        "cruise"      "cruising"   
## [16] "bike"        "biking"      "dive"        "diving"      "surf"       
## [21] "surfing"     "paddle"      "swim"        "ocean"       "beach"      
## [26] "^sea"        "sand"        "coast"       "island"      "wave"       
## [31] "fish"        "whale"       "dolphin"     "pacific"     "crab"       
## [36] "lobster"     "water"       "shore"       "marine"      "seawater"   
## [41] "lagoon"      "slough"      "saltwater"   "underwater"  "tide"       
## [46] "aquatic"     "^tree"       "^earth"      "weather"     "sunset"     
## [51] "sunrise"     "^sun"        "climate"     "park"        "wildlife"   
## [56] "^view"       "habitat"     "^rock"       "nature"      "mountains"  
## [61] "^peak"       "canyon"      "pier"        "wharf"       "environment"
## [66] "ecosystem"

Let’s look at some examples

kable(sample_n(nature_df %>% filter(nature_word == 1), 20)) %>%
  kable_styling(bootstrap_options = c("striped", "condensed"), font_size = 10, fixed_thead = T)

Month	Day	Time	Year	full_text	user_id	user_location	geo_coordinates	retweet_count	favorite_count	lat	lon	month_num	date	user_type	nature_word
Mar	10	05:48:13	2015	cardinals get weatherspoon, iupati, and peters all in one day. great start to free agency	887811144	Brea – UCSB	c(34.41831413, -119.86795941)	0	2	34.41831	-119.8680	3	2015-03-10	local	1
Jun	20	16:44:48	2019	🥳#tbt summer solstice parade edition: 🌞we all love the festivities this time of year! please be mindful of harmful confetti plastics that damage our precious environment 🏝use paper confetti sparingly🙏… https://t.co/7xd30hj5md	73460658	Santa Barbara, CA	c(34.41922757, -119.7002131)	0	0	34.41923	-119.7002	6	2019-06-20	local	1
Dec	18	02:39:16	2016	how to park a mustang @ santa barbara, california https://t.co/hqinrv01ja	14432203	Manchester	c(34.4258, -119.714)	0	0	34.42580	-119.7140	12	2016-12-18	tourist	1
Nov	21	22:20:37	2016	butterfly beach by @posesawkwardly. love his santa barbara photography. if you’re in town, stop… https://t.co/uoqdn9syww	2831364296	27 1/2 E Vivtoria St. Santa Barbara CA	c(34.4166923, -119.6951291)	0	0	34.41669	-119.6951	11	2016-11-21	local	1
Jul	11	23:09:32	2015	with shannon (@ santa barbara pier in santa barbara, ca) https://t.co/kwwthf97aw	7344392	Los Angeles via Toronto	c(34.41132522, -119.68750725)	0	0	34.41133	-119.6875	7	2015-07-11	tourist	1
Jun	13	19:52:53	2015	view of my set up at the @santabarbaramag 40th anniversary party thursday night at @bacararesortsb 📷… https://t.co/cbztwodtbb	1663278578	NA	c(34.43392951, -119.91972663)	0	2	34.43393	-119.9197	6	2015-06-13	local	1
Nov	14	22:57:39	2015	back in #santabarbara enjoying perfect weather. #whatwinter @ santa barbra peir https://t.co/so3qtia4lo	479833743	Santa Maria, CA	c(34.40987665, -119.68565533)	0	1	34.40988	-119.6857	11	2015-11-14	tourist	1
Jul	18	06:51:17	2018	🗓my days july/17/2018🗓 🗝" #beachshoot pt10 "🗝 #turnuptuesday #targetedindividuals #teamsingle #butterflybeach #singlelifesucks ____________________________________ #recordingartist… https://t.co/e1g9rck4fr	224387002	Cerritos, CA	c(34.41807, -119.64847)	0	0	34.41807	-119.6485	7	2018-07-18	local	1
Feb	18	16:28:11	2016	#tbt to when many of my favorite faves all came together: #beer #bbq #livemusic #biker #bar and… https://t.co/wvpbp2p2ar	20013544	United States	c(34.523315, -119.835408)	0	0	34.52331	-119.8354	2	2016-02-18	local	1
Dec	6	17:30:48	2018	sandy top & kailua bottoms in black palm/charcoal🖤 #reversible #okeswim @ santa barbara, california https://t.co/id0d7juvbc	3730122432	|Santa Barbara, CA|	c(34.4258, -119.714)	0	0	34.42580	-119.7140	12	2018-12-06	local	1
May	27	01:41:09	2017	what a week! - drinking a pacific rain by @ninkasibrewing @ the mesa — https://t.co/fzwgaoq84o #photo	52174270	iPhone: 34.227627,-119.182358	c(34.4101, -119.708)	0	1	34.41010	-119.7080	5	2017-05-27	local	1
Oct	20	05:54:59	2018	a quick getaway to our favorite place close to home… w/ @saucystaci #santabarbarabeachclub needed to relax & unwind-nothing like a real home theatre and the ocean -this house has it… https://t.co/mfkoiz6dn8	23837032	worldwide	c(34.41355947, -119.68751108)	0	0	34.41356	-119.6875	10	2018-10-20	tourist	1
Apr	1	05:42:00	2015	great news, dorade ocean racing crew have passed the isaf sea safety revalidation course with flying colours. http://t.co/raxqbg8zti	484116217	South Coast	c(34.41994586, -119.73482297)	2	0	34.41995	-119.7348	4	2015-04-01	local	1
Jun	2	21:43:46	2017	working in the #californiariviera #santabarbara … can’t beat this weather! congrats to rodrigo… https://t.co/n6azpeawaz	3320338008	Ventura, CA	c(34.41766309, -119.66939586)	0	1	34.41766	-119.6694	6	2017-06-02	tourist	1
Sep	24	17:25:17	2019	custom printed beach towels with your corporate logo. the perfect giveaway for any outdoor event. it will be used over and over for years to come. . . . contact us for a free quote: . 📞 516-932-8550 📧… https://t.co/g0acp9ihwc	61270728	New York, NY	c(34.43301941, -119.91915584)	0	0	34.43302	-119.9192	9	2019-09-24	tourist	1
Jan	28	17:15:22	2015	capturing a yogi at antelope island state park, the essence of tranquility. @val_brooke #yoga… http://t.co/rqxh1ra0rm	36769733	Santa Barbara, CA	c(34.39781754, -119.71991933)	0	0	34.39782	-119.7199	1	2015-01-28	local	1
Apr	23	18:04:59	2017	❤️worshiping the king of kings and lord of lords❤️ #grateful… https://t.co/klpxi3dvxj	266079193	Santa Barbara	c(34.41856211, -119.6842709)	0	0	34.41856	-119.6843	4	2017-04-23	local	1
Jul	10	18:30:55	2016	the tour of cali’s dry rivers continues…. @ santa barbara waterfront https://t.co/uquj7alhki	559991493	Brooklyn	c(34.4068286, -119.69361808)	0	0	34.40683	-119.6936	7	2016-07-10	tourist	1
Oct	13	22:01:38	2019	pints in the park 2019 - drinking an imperial redeye by santa barbarians @ elings park — https://t.co/fnsswvkob5	52174270	iPhone: 34.227627,-119.182358	c(34.4088, -119.735)	0	0	34.40880	-119.7350	10	2019-10-13	local	1
Jul	20	16:04:04	2016	#sandpailvase #beachcampingchic #smile4cdd w/ the sun a shinning &… https://t.co/z2tel3bssq	2732476649	San Diego, CA	c(34.39361076, -119.52207238)	0	0	34.39361	-119.5221	7	2016-07-20	tourist	1

Where are nature-based tweets?

nature_sf <- nature_df %>%
  st_as_sf(coords = c("lon", "lat")) %>%
  st_set_crs(4326)

hex_tweet_count_nature <- hex_grid %>%
  mutate(tweet_count = lengths(st_intersects(hex_grid, nature_sf %>% filter(nature_word == 1))),
         log_tweet_count = log(tweet_count))

#color palettes
greens = colorRampPalette(c("#E5F5E0", "#00441B"))

m <- mapview(hex_tweet_count_nature %>% filter(tweet_count > 0), 
        zcol = "log_tweet_count", 
        layer.name = "# Nature tweets (log)",
        col.regions = greens) 

m@map %>% setView(lng = -119.714, lat = 34.426, zoom = 12)

Who is tweeting nature-based tweets?

Not surprisingly there are less nature-based tweets than nature-based. Of all tweets, % are nature-based.

Of local tweeters, 13.7643962% of tweets are nature-based. Of tourists, 21.716904% are nature-based.

Are tweets in protected areas more often nature-based?

California Protected Areas Database

Time

Timeline of tweets

Initial hypothesis was identifying spikes in nature-based tweets around three significant events: - Refugio oil spill in 2015 - Thomas fire in 2017 - Debris flow in 2018

Word clouds

top 100 words for locals vs tourist. And we could do this in space. At sterns wharf what are people tweeting about? At Elings, what are locals tweeting about?

Maybe in word clouds we can see some changes due to natural events

All of SB

By area

Sentiment Analysis

Lessons learned

Data is harder to find

Future research

Looking at different scale areas

There might be an interesting comparison between rural-suburban-urban areas. We hypothseize that the tourist/local alignment would split in urban areas, maybe aligned in suburban (like SB) and maybe not exist in rural.

Proportion of words that are nature based tells you how people. In Santa Barbara, there will be a lot of nature-based sense of place. In Manhattan, we wouldn’t expect to see nature based ones so much.

In a blog piece we can pose questions that we couldn’t answer but stuff like “can proportion of tourists/locals in place engagement tell us anything”.

Could compare % nature based tweets in SB to other areas. If we did this across the whole state, what proportion% are nature based? Maybe on average its just 5%.

Where and why do locals and tourists overlap in their use of area. SB seems to have a high alignment of tourists/locals, which may be helpful for local policy. Maybe places with distinct differences in how tourists/locals use places.

Look at cities of different coastal sizes rural - small town - urban - mega city. Could see how tourists/locals patterns differentiate across scale.

Is there a threshold of tourists where locals don’t go anymore?

In areas where we see both tourists and locals engaging, what characteristics do we see?

Quantifying transitions between rural to city.